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EDITOR'S NOTE: As you can see below, John is a man of few words. He is a no-nonsense analyst who epitomizes the phrase, "never get your information from one source, and question every source that is willing to talk to you."
- Where did you grow up?
- Freeport, New York — on Long Island.
- Tell us about your family.
- My wife is a teacher and we have two children, a boy and a girl, and several pets.
- What do you like most about your work?
- Working with Gartner clients, on telephone inquiries and in person.
- What are you most proud of professionally?
- The appreciation from Gartner clients when I've helped them solve a problem.
- When you were six years old, what did you want to grow up to be?
- A football player.
- How did you become an IT analyst?
- By accident, which is how most of my career has gone. While I've worked in security since getting out of college 25 years ago, most of my career moves have been random, happy coincidences.
- If you could not be an analyst, what would be your second career choice?
- A teacher.
- How has IT personally changed your life?
- It really hasn't other than my family and I spend a lot less time watching TV and a lot more time playing on the computer and on the Internet.
- How do you spend your time when you're not working?
- Bicycling, hiking, at the movies.
- What is your favorite vacation spot?
- Cape Cod.
- How do you choose the books you read for pleasure?
- I try different writers, then I read everything there is by the ones I like. I'm a big fan of fiction that makes you think.
- Do you have a favorite Web site?
- www.theonion.com
- Is this the best time in your life?
- No. College probably was.
- Do you have a philosophy by which you live, something that guides you in tough times?
- Yes: "Don't worry about the horse being blind; just keep loading up the wagon." I believe moving forward is much more important than arguing about who is in front.
- Where do you want to be, what do you want to be doing, in ten years?
- I think it is a waste of time to predict out ten years, but I'd be pretty happy in ten years doing what I'm doing today. Helping people figure out how to keep the bad guys out while letting the good guys in will still be fun.
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John is Gartner's lead analyst on all Internet-facing security issues, covering a broad range of enterprise-critical areas. He also provides thought leadership in wireless security, ways to develop software without vulnerabilities, and trustable computing platforms.
Topics he covers include:
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Operating system security |
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Intrusion prevention |
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Vulnerability management |
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Strategic security initiatives |
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Defining risk appetite |
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Internet security metrics |
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John presented testimony entitled Computer Security: Cyber Attacks - War without Borders before a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology on 26 July 2000.
John was chosen by the White House via the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board (PCIPB), to moderate the Town Hall Meeting on the National Cybersecurity Strategy at Arizona State University on 14 November 2002.
By advocating and guiding many Gartner clients to instituting continual proactive approaches to Internet security, John has allowed them to escape the Blaster and Slammer worms without damage.
On 10 February 2004 John co-chaired a Gartner/Federal Reserve Security Summit on Identity Theft in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
When editing and providing commentary to SANS Security Newsbytes, John's expertise in secure computing receives worldwide distribution.
John's experience prior to joining Gartner:
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consultant to Entrust Technologies |
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consultant to Trusted Information Systems, where he started and managed security consulting groups |
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eleven years with the Government Systems division of GTE |
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public sector work with the NSA and the U.S. Secret Service |
Education:
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BS, Electrical Engineering, University of Connecticut |
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NSA-certified cryptologic engineer |
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